Below the Mountains: The Diary of Amy McDonald is the seventh book in the My New Zealand Story series by Scholastic New Zealand. The book was written by Jean Bennett. It was published on February 25, 2005 and was followed by Chinatown Girl by Eva Wong Ng.
"The supplies lorry will pick you up at 8 a.m. in Lumsden. There's not much room in the tent so just bring warm clothes, pots and blankets. It is the Great Depression and Amy McDonald hasn't seen her father for ages. He is a mechanic in the Milford Road Camps, where dozens of me have been sent to build a road tunnel through the mountains to take tourists to Milford Sound. One day he sends for his family, and Amy's life soon feels as if it has been turned upside-down. In the rough work camps there are no schools, shops or even other children. With only a canvas tent for shelter, she and her family have to endure the extremes of cold, hardship–and tragedy. And all the while there hangs over them the threat of avalanches, with their terrifying destructive power..."